Photos: Blown calls in sports history

Updated 2:16 PM ET, Wed September 26, 2012

Photos: Blown calls in sports15 photos

Blown calls in sports history – The Seattle Seahawks defeated the Green Bay Packers 14-12 on Monday, September 24, after replacement officials, standing in for locked-out NFL regulars, gave possession of a disputed ball to Seattle receiver Golden Tate. Officials in the end zone gave competing signals: one indicating a touchdown, the other an interception.

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Blown calls in sports history – A timer got stuck (or something) during the 2012 London Olympics, allowing German fencer Britta Heidemann to defeat South Korean fencer Shin A-Lam in the epee semifinal. Shin sat on the piste for an hour, crying at times, while officials worked out the question.

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Blown calls in sports history – Baseball umpire Bill Joyce admittedly blew a call at first base, robbing the Detroit Tigers' Armando Galarraga of a perfect game vs. the Cleveland Indians in 2010. Joyce wept when he met Galarraga at home plate before the next day's game.

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Blown calls in sports history – In a 2009 qualifying match for the 2010 World Cup, French striker Thierry Henry got away with touching the ball with his hand — twice — before teammate William Gallas scored the winning goal against Ireland, knocking the Irish out of the competition.

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Blown calls in sports history – A regular NFL referee screwed up the call on an overtime coin toss on Thanksgiving Day 1998, and the Detroit Lions beat the Pittsburgh Steelers.

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Blown calls in sports history – Referees failed to call Germany's Torsten Frings for a handball during a 2002 match, and the U.S. was knocked out of the World Cup tournament.

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Blown calls in sports history – Argentina's Diego Maradona illegally touched the ball with his hand while scoring a goal against England in soccer's 1986 World Cup tournament. It became known as the "Hand of God" after Maradona credited divine intervention for the dubious goal.

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Blown calls in sports history – In 1999, the Dallas Stars' Brett Hull scored in triple overtime with a skate in the crease -- which at the time was illegal -- and the Stars went on to win the Stanley Cup over the Buffalo Sabres.

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Blown calls in sports history – New York Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch put a phantom tag on Jose Offerman of the Boston Red Sox during the American League Championship Series in 1999. Offerman was called out, and the Yankees went on to win.

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Blown calls in sports history – A 12-year-old baseball fan named Jeffrey Maier reached over the fence to deflect a ball hit by the Yankees' Derek Jeter into the stands for a home run during the 1996 ALCS against Baltimore. Jeter could have been called out for fan interference.

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Blown calls in sports history – In college football, on-field officials gave Colorado a fifth down (a team gets only four) to score a touchdown during a crucial game against Missouri in 1990. Colorado won 33-31 and went on to claim part of the national title. Missouri fans pulled down the goalpost after the loss.

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Blown calls in sports history – American boxer Roy Jones Jr. dominated his South Korean opponent in the gold-medal match at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, only to see Park Si-Hun handed the decision.

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Blown calls in sports history – Umpire Don Denkinger called the Kansas City Royals' Jorge Orta safe at first base despite being beaten by half a step in the ninth inning of a 1985 World Series game against St. Louis. Kansas City went on to win the game and the series.

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Blown calls in sports history – In the 1972 Olympics, officials reset the clock three times in the final moments to allow the USSR to prevail in the gold-medal basketball game against the undefeated U.S. team. Before the clock was reset, the U.S. team mistakenly celebrated what they thought was a win.

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Blown calls in sports history – Baltimore Orioles catcher Elrod Hendricks tagged sliding Cincinnati runner Bernie Carbo with an empty glove in a 1970 World Series game, but umpire Ken Burkhart — who had his back to the play — called Carbo out. (By the way, Carbo also missed the plate.)